Ceremony of the High Priestess
by Branwen and Neith
Summary: Well, this is just the prologe of our story. who knows when we'll write or even finish.


Prologue  
  
  
  
A light, cool breeze ruffled my hair and stirred the leaves on the trees. I looked up at the starry vault of the sky. It was near midnight and the moon was at its fullest. The orb cast silvery light upon the land. Tonight, as the men on the island slept, great magick would take place. Tonight was the night that I, MerythNeith, and my good friend, Clytie, would become High Priestesses. I would serve the great and wise Goddess Neith, while Clytie would vow service to the Goddess of beauty, Branwen. Moving my gaze from the sky to the temple, I grew even more nervous. The temple was huge and gave off an overwhelming feeling. Six large columns shot up from the marbled floor of the entrance, supporting the heavy roof. Colorful banners of red, blue, and gold hung and flapped in the cool breeze of the night. Unconsciously, I started to wring my hands.  
  
"Oh, gods, I am so nervous!" exclaimed my best friend. I turned to her. Her face  
  
seemed very pale in the moonlight and she looked anxious. "What if I screw up? This is the most important day of my life and I bet, with my luck, that something will go totally wrong and--"  
  
"Clytie!" I said, somewhat sharply. She knew my nerves were strained also; my tone had just betrayed me. Usually I am a very calm person. "Sorry, Clytie. What with you going on and on about messing up, isn't helping my frame of mind that much."  
  
"Yeah, well, I'll be quiet, for as long as I can." For Clytie this was a very kind action.  
  
"Thank you. I am as nervous as you are," I admitted. The wind stirred once more, and nearly knocked Clytie's carefully placed blonde locks in disarray. Quickly, she placed protecting hands on her ornate hair and sighed as the skirts of her blue dress picked up in the wind. Suddenly she started pacing up and down the portico of the temple.  
  
"How much longer will it be?" She would ask anyone who cared to listen.  
  
"Not much longer, I suppose. The moon is almost at the right position for the  
  
Ceremony..."  
  
Within in moments, the tall, carved doors of the temple opened and four priestesses in ghostly white appeared. They seemed to have a glow about them, as if they were spirits of the Dead, which they resembled with their pale faces and white, flowing robes. Clytie stopped dead in her tracks when they appeared, and we quickly ran up to one another in front the priestesses. Like idiots, we almost knocked each other down in our fast and haste movements. We straightened, and stared ahead with a calm we didn't feel. One priestess came forward placed a garland of leaves and pink flowers upon Clytie's golden head, and an athame in her right hand. Another priestess walked to me and gave me a ceremonial dagger which had a shield and two crossed arrows engraved on the hilt; the symbol of Neith.  
  
The priestess backed away from me and all four of them, not saying a word, turned and walked into the temple, leaving the doors open. Clytie and I looked at each other. We walked into the temple.  
  
The large doors shut behind us with an echoing slam. The room were presently in was enormous. The arched ceiling soared high above our heads, hundreds of candles were set about everywhere, serving as the only light, and the priestess had left us, alone. Clytie and I looked at each other; uncertainty in her eyes. We walked forward to the doors ahead of us, which led to the main part of the temple. We were only in the entrance hall. With our hands about to open the doors, the priestess came out of two side doors. A priestess in a pale pink robe took Clytie by the arm and led her into one of these side doors. Another took me into the other side door.  
  
The priestess led down a long hall in near complete darkness. I had been in the temple before; my training as priestess and witch had required my presence here. But never had I been in this part of the temple. I assumed I was being brought to the inner shrines, where only a few selected are allowed in those hallowed spaces. A few turns and passages later found us standing before two richly decorated, golden doors. The priestess I had been with finally spoke for the first time.  
  
"MerythNeith," she said in ringing tones. Her voice was level, but gentle.  
  
"Daughter of Seti, the warrior, and Kiara, the priestess of Arianrhod. You have been chosen by the most powerful priestesses of the entire country to become High Priestess of Neith. A most demanding role to fulfill, MerythNeith. You are only a girl of sixteen; if you do succeed and become High Priestess do you think you can carry out your duties? We believe that you are ready, but are you? If you are not, you may leave now."  
  
I had never been more nervous in my life, but I had come this far; there was no turning back. In a voice I like to believe was equally as level as the priestess's, I replied, "Yes, I am ready to become High Priestess and I am certain that I will be able to carry out all my duties with as much efficiency as any other High Priestess before me."  
  
She nodded slowly. "Come with me then."  
  
The brunette woman turned around opened the heavy doors. The room before me was shrouded in complete darkness. The priestess walked forward and suddenly many lanterns in the room sprung to life with a tiny flame. As the flames grew stronger, I could see the room in greater detail. A sight it was to behold, I believe I gasped aloud. The floors, made of silver, seemed to move like the seas in the flickering light, the walls were a pale gold, columns lined the sides and had lotus flowers as their capitals, and in the center of the room, dominating it, was a statue of the Goddess Neith. A few more inches taller than me, the statue was painted in vivid colors; her hair painted black, her skin pale, and her dress was red and gold in color. The deep blue eyes of the statue seemed alive. Seemingly out of nowhere, a voice spoke.  
  
"MerythNeith," echoed the sepulchral voice. "The priestesses of the Isle have  
  
trained you in magick and the many arts of the great Goddess Neith. You have proven yourself worthy of the position of High Priestess to humans, but now you must prove yourself to the Divine. If the Gods have decreed for you to be High Priestess, then you shall pass this test unharmed." The voice stopped for a moment. My heart was pounding now, so hard I thought others must hear it. The voice soon resumed where it had left off. "But, if your destiny is different, harm will surely come to you. Do you still wish to proceed?"  
  
They were testing my fear and courage. "I wish to proceed."  
  
The brunette priestess, who had first brought me here, suddenly appeared. I had quite forgotten about her. She laid a small rug before the statue of Neith and motioned for me to  
  
go to it. As I lowered onto my knees before the statue, I felt the Goddesses' eyes upon me. The voice echoed through the room again. "You are now to experience the energy of the Great Goddess. The energy of the greatest warrior and hunter. Few have enough strength to accept it into their bodies. We hope you are one of these few."  
  
The priestess came over to me, placed my palms upward, towards the sky, and backed away. "Look directly into the eyes of the Great Goddess," she ordered.  
  
I found it hard to look into those eyes. They were of the darkest of blues, so blue they were almost black, but they were very much alive. As I looked into them, they seemed to swirl like an ocean in a storm and a great light flashed before my eyes. I felt a powerful energy enter my body. It was overpowering, as if some being had taken over my body and wanted to destroy my soul. But somehow, I survived and I felt myself become one with energy of the Goddess that had entered me. When my vision returned to me, I was resting the arms of a priestess. Her face was one of concern and anxiety. I got to my feet and looked around me. Many, many priestess were standing around me in a circle. They all looked at me intently. I felt a little tired, but the energy of the Goddess was still there.  
  
They now knew that I had survived the test, and one of them said. "You have proven yourself worth to be the High Priestess of Neith, even the Great Goddess herself has acknowledged it true."  
  
Suddenly all the priestess bowed and left the room, leaving me with my old teacher, Sarina.  
  
  
  
MerythNeith and I had been separated in the entrance hall of the temple. I was now afraid, knowing that I would have to do this by myself. I tried to let out a sigh of relaxation, but all I could do was breathe.  
  
The garland of pink flowers that the priestess had placed on my head began to itch, but I knew it was to test my patience, since my teachers and most of the priestesses on the Isle knew I wasn't a very patient person.  
  
After we parted, and I had been led into the other side door, there were fewer candles around, and I could barely see the priestesses in front of me. I squinted my eyes to see if I could see any farther, but I couldn't.  
  
Then there was a shimmer of light and I knew it was a door. One of the priestesses in the front had opened a door to one of the inner shrines to the temple.  
  
"Clytie Moon," the voice echoed. I knew that voice, it was Venus, one of the higher priestesses of the Isle. "Are you worthy of passing through these sacred, ceremonial doors, to proceed to the next step of the ceremony?"  
  
I paused for a moment. I took in a breath and said, "I am worthy."  
  
The doors automatically opened and I was in the inner shrine of Branwen, the Goddess of beauty. I gaped for a moment at the gorgeous decorations of the shrine.  
  
Red marble floors clashed with my light blue robes, and white columns could camouflage the priestesses leading me, since they were dressed in white. Many priestesses then enclosed the area of the shrine. Before me, stood a mirror.  
  
"This is Branwen's Mirror, Clytie. If she has chosen you, then you will see your reflection in the glass. If not, then you are not ready to become the High Priestess of Branwen."  
  
I nodded and gazed into the mirror. The glass was foggy and the first thing that came to my mind was that I wasn't worthy. Then I remembered that I must focus on the energy of the Goddess and then maybe, just maybe, I will see my own reflection.  
  
I could feel the hundreds of eyes on my back as I stared into the mirror. It seemed like hours before I could see myself, clear as day, in the mirror. I smiled, and I thought I saw my reflection wink at me.  
  
The priestesses then led me into another chamber, where I was faced with my elder sister, and teacher, Omega. From there, she led me to the grand entrance hallway.  
  
MerythNeith came out of the side door soon after I had. I stared at her with a look of nervousness, and she gave me the same look. We were now going into the temple of public worship. I could feel my stomach turn with excitement, but also with extreme anxiety.  
  
The temple was one of the largest structures on the Isle, besides the Castle of the Priestess, where, if we passed, we'd be living. We had long awaited this moment, even if it had only been three years of our teachings, we had excelled in all our areas.  
  
We were led, then, into the main area of the temple. There were many candles lit around the central shrine. I was in awe. I had never seen the temple look at mystical as it did at this moment. I looked up and saw that the moon was directly over the symbol of the Goddess, which was imbedded in stained glass. The white columns had been decorated with vines and pink flowers, like my garland/crown on my head. There were a number of suits of armor around the temple and I knew that the pink flowers and the armor were to symbolize our Goddesses.  
  
We stopped in front of the shrine. I looked down to see that the normal worship rug had been removed and there was a symbol of the Goddess on the marble floor. We knelt down in front of the shrine and prayed to the Goddesses for protection and strength.  
  
Then the priestess's that were surrounding us in the circular temple began to chant something. I could barely hear what they were saying but it sounded something like this:  
  
"O Mighty Goddess,  
  
Neith,  
  
Lady of War, the Hunt, and Weaving,  
  
Binder of Two Arrows,  
  
We call upon You, Great Goddess!  
  
Maiden of Beauty and Love,  
  
Branwen,  
  
Blessed is Your Name,  
  
Gentle is Thy face,  
  
Graceful is Thy movements,  
  
We call upon You, Beautiful Goddess!  
  
We ask for Your protection and blessings,  
  
Upon Your High Priestesses  
  
Who will serve you for eternity,  
  
In humble admiration,  
  
May you bless their lives with love and peace,  
  
And watch them wherever they go!  
  
This we ask of you,  
  
Merciful Goddesses,  
  
Please grant our requests and wishes!"  
  
It was beautiful. I had never heard such words. But of course, they were words from the Goddess herself, so I could not argue with the choice of words. I sat, listening to the beautiful words that were like a soft breeze in the middle of a field of wildflowers. It was like the shine in sun on a warm sunny day.  
  
I could feel an energy surging through my body. It was a great feeling. I could feel it in my feet, my legs, my body, my arms, my head, my hands, my toes, and my fingertips. It was like it was all over me. I couldn't get enough of it. My closed eyes envisioned a white light surrounding me, engulfing me into its ball of white. I was suddenly in my field of wildflowers, experiencing the soft breeze in my hair. I could feel it tassel my hair around my face. I could feel the world spinning. I could feel almost everything that was happening at that very moment in the Earth. It was beautiful. Then, suddenly, it was over. I was empty. The energy was gone and I was once again, in the temple with the hundreds of other priestesses and MerythNeith.  
  
I looked at her. I knew that the ceremony was over. It couldn't have been. I wanted to feel that energy again. I wanted to be inside the ball of light. To feel the energy surging over my entire body, but that would never happen again. It was a once in a lifetime experience.  
  
Later, MerythNeith and I were laying down on beds in our new rooms in the Castle, on the Isle. We were waiting to get the mark of the Goddess, which was a tattoo of a tiny crescent moon on our lower backs. It would be painful, but it would be worth it. It would be for the Goddess.  
  
"Clytie?" MerythNeith asked me, she turned on her side to face me.  
  
"Yes?" I responded, as I turned to face her as she had done to me.  
  
"Did you feel it too?" she asked, unsure of how to place her words.  
  
"The energy? Yeah, I felt it. Wasn't it great?"  
  
"It was like… pure emotions. Pure earth. Pure… everything."  
  
I couldn't disagree. The energy was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before in my lifetime, although I was only fifteen.  
  
My mother was not a priestess on the Isle of the Goddess. She had taken refuge here after my father died in a battle some fifteen years ago. Yes, of course, my mother was pregnant with me at the time. Here, my mother learned all the teachings of the Goddess and somehow got me into one of the classes that children could take, but only the children of the priestesses could be taught to become a priestess, so it was somehow… exhilarating.  
  
"Pure everything would be what I would call it."  
  
"And the white light. That was awesome."  
  
I nodded. "I'm tired. The ceremony took a lot of energy out of me."  
  
"As it did to me too. We will have to wait to sleep after our markings."  
  
Then, a priestess came into the room to get us for our tattoos. It was time to be placed in the book of history for the Isle of the Goddess. MerythNeith and I were to be the youngest High Priestesses in all of time. 


End file.
